USCIS Continues to Accept FY 2011 H-1B Petitions

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it continues to accept H-1B nonimmigrant petitions subject to the Fiscal Year 2011 (FY2011) cap. USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received for both the 65,000 general cap and the 20,000 U.S. master’s degree or higher educational exemption. USCIS has received as of May 21, 2010 approximately 19,600 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap. The agency has received approximately 8,200 petitions for individuals with advanced degrees.

USCIS will provide regular updates on the processing of FY 2011 H-1B petitions. Should USCIS receive the necessary number of petitions to meet the cap, it will issue an update to advise the public, that the FY 2011 H-1B cap has been met as of a certain date (the “final receipt date”). The final receipt date will be based on the date USCIS physically receives the petition, not the date that the petition has been postmarked. The date USCIS informs the public that the cap has been reached may differ from the actual final receipt date.